We have a place down the road from us that sells used tires (as well as new tires). I almost always buy new myself, but I did buy a single used one once to pass inspection when money was too tight to buy two. They let me inspect the tire first. Still had 5.5-6/32 tread life. My Father-in-law gets used tires there frequently…but has not (yet) had any issues either.
I could use a better spare tire for my truck. A new one would cost upwards of $140 or so, for a Michelin Defender anyway. Maybe a used one would fit the bill nicely.
I recently got a used tire for a spare on my truck as the one I had was 21 year’s old & never on the ground just dry rotted knock on wood I have not had a flat tire for 10 year’s or better except one 3 year’s ago on the wife’s car due to tread separation.
Ironman Radial RB-12 is the model of tire from Hercules Tires.
I bought a $20 used tire when I was 200 miles from home and blew a tire. I just wanted something to get me home until I could get a new set of tires. In school I used to buy those Firestone recaps that were always on sale for 4 for $100, or two snow tires for $50. Really never had a problem with them. I know I bought some tires for my VW bug from Sears catalog but don’t remember if they were used or recaps 50 years ago. Whatever they were seemed ok but the casings were showing some age.
I did the used tire thing in the past, but as the labor cost for mounting and balancing increased, it just didn’t seem cost effective in the long run. Situations just like @bing describes are about the only time it makes sense IMHO.
That said, I did stumble into a very nice deal a while ago when I was searching for a single tire for my ugly old utility trailer. After watching Craigslist for a couple weeks, I found an ad for three tires of the right size for $50. It was more than I wanted to spend but I was out of options and needed to get the trailer off the jack stand.
The seller showed me two beefy tires with a rough terrain type tread, minimal wear even on the shoulders, mounted on nice El Camino rims, plus a third tire in fine condition on an ordinary rim. I happily paid his full asking price even though I doubted I’d use the knobby tires. The single tire was all I needed, so I sold the matched pair for $100, the rims are on Craigslist.
2 Likes
@arvin225
As you see, there’s lots to learn about car ownership and maintenance, and I’d guess that there are multitudes of car owners who are know less than you do - people who don’t open the hood to check oil, coolant, etc. Some people come to this forum wondering why they ran out of oil after 4000 miles and ruined an engine…they’d never checked it!
This forum is an excellent source of good information so you might just stop in to browse the latest posts.
I’ll offer one option for you to consider regarding where you get your car serviced that you may not have thought about. Since your Tuscon is about 8 years old, it’s not essential that you have all your service done by the dealer. I suggest you start thinking about a small independent locally owned repair shop (not the corporate chain businesses like Pep Boys etc). Ask people you know - family, friends, co-workers, for recommendations. Part of what you are looking for in a small auto repair shop is as much about the connection you can make with the mechanic(s), as about the actual technical ability. When you have cultivated a good relationship as a repeat customer, they’ll let you know when there’s something you’ll need to attend to fairly soon, and help you decide what things are ok as they are, like those tires which may or may not have been “bald”. I used the same mechanic exclusively for 25 years, scrambled for another only when his health failed him.
Thanks for the advice, @gmroadtripper. I’m actually in the middle of compiling a list of independent, locally-owned repair shops that have been recommended to me through social media, to to do an initial compare and contrast.
My one concern about these places though is do they use genuine parts that they have stocked up (if they indeed do have parts for every vehicle type stocked up), or is the customer responsible for supplying those? I would imagine they would have to order parts which would take a while to be received and then the additional time it needs to take to actually do the repairs.
It’s customary for the shop to supply the parts. You’re paying for their time and skills . . . that includes stocking and/or locating the proper parts
Genuine Hyundai parts usually cost a little more than aftermarket parts. For brakes, I’d be tempted to use genuine Hyundai parts, for reasons which I won’t get into right now . . . unless somebody would like me to explain why. For filters, bulbs, and such things, there’s no reason to get parts that say Hyundai.
That’s part of the reason why you go to independent shops. Savings all around. Lower labor rates, and lower prices for parts. An independent often won’t stock factory parts. They can get them, as requested, but you should expect to pay for that service. Somebody will have to either go pick them up, or have them delivered. And there will be a fair markup on the parts themselves
If the customer were to supply parts, the shop would typically not warranty them, and why should they? If you let them take care of the parts, it’s their responsibility. They’ll stand behind the parts and labor, and if they get the wrong parts, or defective parts, that’s on them to handle the situation. Now if you supply parts, and they’re wrong and/or defective, that should be on you, not them.
Many independent “all-around” shops also install tires. Sometimes it makes sense to keep everything in house. Why give away business, if you’re capable of handling everything?
Comments by db4690 match my experience here in a smallish town with several parts stores. The independent mechanic orders the parts which are delivered by the parts store in a few hours or less. Depending on the job, what usually happens here is that the customer drops the car off early, the mechanic starts the job and proceeds as far as possible, then goes on to another customer’s car until the parts arrive. So there may be multiple cars in progress at any one time.
1 Like
As for getting names of local shops, this website has a section called Mechanics Files which is a collection of users’ comments about repair shops in specific areas. Look for the link at the top of this page, or on the main CarTalk landing page. Your town may be there.
If a shop had parts for every vehicle then would be a parts house and have thousands of dollars tied up in parts they may never need. Parts houses do delivery runs to repair shops all day long.
And a second statement that supplying your own parts is foolish because the shop will not warranty them. Arvin, you are making this entirely to difficult.
1 Like
They wouldn’t likely have Hyundai oem parts stocked at an inde shop, but if you prefer the Hyundai OEM part, I expect they’d be happy to order them for you directly from Hyundai. Inde shops don’t stock the aftermarket version either for most parts, the shop has to order the parts required at the time the discover they need them, from their parts supplier, who then delivers to them. I think this process is pretty quick, probably if they order in the morning they receive them in the afternoon of the same day.